Two weeks ago at the Yale Sustainability Leadership Forum, leaders in the environmental field gathered to share ideas, perspectives, and solutions on a range of disciplines related to sustainability. This year’s forum, hosted in partnership with the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and the Yale Office of International Affairs, focused on “mega trends distinguishing sustainability from its 20th century precursors”. Yale professors, researchers, and fellows, like James Cameron, Anthony Leiserowitz, Bradford Gentry and Julie Zimmerman, presented and engaged in discussions with industry practitioners, scholars, and thought leaders who had gathered in New Haven to explore what sustainability looks like in the 21st century.

On Monday, October 22, the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy hosted Todd Stern for a conversation about the next steps for climate change. Stern, the former US Chief Negotiator for the Paris Climate Agreement, is currently a senior fellow at Brookings Institution and a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School. Center Director Professor Dan Esty moderated the event.

For many, the Trump administration’s announced intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, a carbon-reduction pact joined by nearly every nation, cast a dark cloud over global efforts to respond to climate change. Does that cloud have a carbon-neutral lining?

Workers install rooftop solar in the Chinese city of Wuhan, which has joined with cities across the globe to fight climate change.KEVIN FRAYER/GETTY

Much of the progress in reducing CO2 emissions is being driven by mayors, governors, premiers, and corporate executives. It’s time to acknowledge that reality and move beyond traditional diplomacy by allowing cities, states, and companies to officially sign on to the Paris Agreement